Leeds & Championship Preview

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You can’t afford to take your foot off the pedal in this year’s Championship. Charlton picked up an impressive four points over the Easter weekend and after falling 2-0 behind to Dougie Freedman’s Trotters, you’d struggle to find a Charlton fan turning down those four points. Yet, despite their hard work and endeavour, Chris Powell’s men find themselves a point closer to the drop than they were before the Easter weekend.
It’s a fact that summarises this incredible Championship season; one that most now expect will go to the wire, with any team up to Middlesbrough in 9th still not out of the woods.
The Addicks have shown signs of improvement at just the right time and have not conceded a goal in over two hours of Championship football. They’ll be hoping to build on those foundations this weekend when they take on Leeds United, a team that the Reds could leapfrog into the top half of the table with victory.
Leeds are a team on the slide with only three points taken from their last six games and now are without a permanent manager as Neil Warnock resigned after their Monday loss to Derby County. They looked to be safe this time last month but a poor run of results has left them only five points above the drop and the Addicks must be confident of heaping further misery on The Whites.
One player in the Addicks ranks who might be keeping an eye on Leeds’ ailing form is the influential Andy Hughes. A cult hero at Elland Road, Hughes played 116 league games over three seasons and endeared himself to the United faithful with his passionate and committed style of play. After a shaky start against Bolton, Charlton’s rear-guard action has benefited from his inclusion and you would imagine that he’ll keep his place for a game against his former employers.
With regards to the rest of the XI, expect an almost unchanged line-up. The only change that may tempt Chris Powell is to replace hard-working wide man Lawrie Wilson with Ricardo Fuller, the man who had a big part in changing the game against Bolton last weekend. If Fuller’s shoulder troubles side-line him for the weekend then expect Danny Haynes to make his first start since the 0-2 loss to Millwall.
It’ll be caretaker manager and former Addick Neil Redfearn’s first game in charge and as such, the opposition line-up is a difficult one to predict. However, with ex-Millwall marksman Steve Morison, Ross McCormack, El Hadji-Diouf and another former Addick in Luke Varney all likely to play a part, the defence will need to be on their toes. Also keep a watchful eye on Sam Byram, Leeds’ own right back protégé who’s been making waves in the Championship this season.
With Leeds’ poor form and the Addicks' awful home record, it’s difficult to see where the game might be won and lost. Expect a tight draw or victory for either side by a single goal.
Around the country there was other clubs in the same position as the two at the Valley, desperate for three more points. There are only six more games to be played by most this season and no game could be considered a dead rubber. Starting in the bottom three where Huddersfield host Peterborough in a game where anything less than three points for either side will be seen as not good enough. Amazingly, Peterborough have gone seven games unbeaten yet are still stuck in 23rd. Similarly at Hillsborough, where Sheffield Wednesday will welcome to fallen force of Blackburn Rovers who have picked up only four points in their last nine games. The Hillsborough Kop will be hopeful of roaring their side on to victory in that one but you can expect two nervous affairs at the bottom of the Championship table.
In thick of the relegation scrap with three wins in their last four, David Flitcroft’s Barnsley lie in 20th position. The Tykes travel to South London to take on Ian Holloway’s misfiring Eagles. The Croydon club’s promotion push has fallen by the wayside in recent weeks with no goals scored in the last three games, whilst conceding eight. That fact will give all of Barnsley hope that they can take home three points this weekend.
Despite leaving the Valley empty handed last weekend, Dougie Freedman’s Bolton could still conceivably catch his former club Palace. To do so however, they’ll need a home win over the recently rejuvenated Wolves. The team in gold strip have lost four influential players to injury in the last fortnight (the most recent being Sylvan Ebanks-Blake) and as a result they may struggle when they travel to their ex-Premier League pals at the Reebok Stadium.
Two of Bolton’s rivals fighting for those play-off places are Brighton and Leicester City. Nigel Pearson’s men travel to the AMEX hoping to arrest their recent decline in form which has seen them slip from as high as second earlier in the season down to seventh. Expect Brighton to have no mercy on their home turf and having been thwarted by Charlton in midweek, the Seagulls will be hungry to turn the tables on the Foxes.
It’s a clash of 3rd vs. 1st in the televised game at Vicarage Road. A recent wobble has meant that Cardiff have seen their lead at the top of the Championship slip. They’ll be confident of seeing a lead of seven points out to the end of the season though and with it sealing promotion to the Premier League. Watford will be hoping to put the Welsh promotion party on hold as they look for three points to maintain the pressure on Hull City in second place.
Hull themselves welcome their east coast neighbours Middlesbrough to the KC Stadium confident of turning over a team who had lost four straight games before battling to a 0-0 draw against Peterborough on Tuesday evening. Their form has been inconsistent though, with alternative wins and losses in the past eight matches. This will give Tony Mowbray’s men motivation to record the victory needed to push them back into the play-off chasing pack before it’s too late.
Billy Davies’ second stint as manager of Nottingham Forest has been just the tonic their squad needed to force their way firmly into the play-offs. The Reds have gone nine games unbeaten since the Scot’s appointment and looking firmly on course to book their play-off place. They’ll be hopping to jump above Palace into fourth place on Saturday afternoon.
Elsewhere, teams that could yet be dragged back into the relegation scrap battle it out at St. Andrews and Pride Park. Birmingham host Millwall whilst Derby will welcome Ipswich respectively. Three points here will be a huge relief to the winners, come away with nothing and they’ll soon be looking over their shoulders once more.
And finally, the team propping up the table, Bristol City, have fallen away in their push for safety and look to be heading through the trapdoor for this season. Sean O’Driscoll squad travel to Burnley more in hope than expectation of avoiding the drop. Burnley will be looking to confirm their Championship status for next year at the expense of a nail in the Robins’ coffin.
CM

 

 

CHAMPIONSHIP FIXTURES
Saturday 6th April
Birmingham City vs. Millwall
Bolton Wanderers vs. Wolverhampton W
Brighton & HA vs. Leicester City
Burnley vs. Bristol City
Charlton Athletic vs. Leeds United
Crystal Palace vs. Barnsley
Derby County vs. Ipswich Town
Huddersfield Town vs. Peterborough United
Hull City vs. Middlesbrough
Nottm Forest vs. Blackpool
Sheffield Wednesday vs. Blackburn
Watford vs. Cardiff City (17:20 kick off)